Process for the manufacture of spun goods, fabrics, and other textiles



Patented Jan. 11, 1938 PATENT OFFICE PROCESS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SPUNs GOODS, FABRICS, AND OTHER TEX- Richard Freudenberg and Gustav Lange, Weinheim, Germany, assignors to firm Carl Freudenberg G. in. b. H ration of Germany Weinheim, Germany, a corpo- No Drawing. Application May 3, 1935, Serial No. 19,'l51. In Germany May 25, 1934 13 Claims.

This invention relates to a process for the manufacture of spun goods, fabrics and other textiles.

In a joint application by the present inventors and others (Serial No. 751,112) there is described a process for the manufacture of spun goods, fabrics and other textiles employing fibres obtained from animal skins, which is characterized by the employment of fibres, which have been obtained by effecting coarse shredding of animal skins pretreated with swelling agents, by treating the coarse fibrous material with agents which change the colloidal properties of the fibres and in particular prevent the fibrous'material from gumming up and becoming horny on removal of water and by finely shredding the material so treated.

The tendency of the coarse fibrous animal material pretreated with swelling agents to gum up or become horny appears to be chiefly due to the fact that the colloidal properties of the fibres are correspondingly changed during the removal of the water and possible also to the fact that the fibrous material containscertain accompanying substances, which are capable of causing or promoting gumming up of the fibres.

In the embodiments described by way of example in the inventors aforesaid previous application the coarse fibrous material is prevented from gumming up and becoming horny during the removal of the water by treating the said fibrous material with organic liquids miscible with water. Such liquids have the property on the one hand of so. altering the colloidal properties of the fibres that they do not stick together on removal of the water and on the other hand appear to dissolve out certain accompanying substances, which are capable of causing the fibres to gum up or stick together and become horny.

It has now been found according to this invention that the colloidal properties of the coarse fibrous material may be changed and in particular the material be prevented from gumming up and becoming horny on more or less extensive removal of water by employing tanning agents or substances acting as tanning agents'or solutions of the same, instead of, or in addition to, the organic liquids miscible with water according to the inventors aforesaid previous application. As tanning agents within the meaning of the invention there may be employed the usual mineral, vegetable or even synthetic tanning agents.

Substances resembling tanning agents, such as oils, fats, blubber and the like may, however, be also employed.

The process of this invention is simpler and cheaper to carry into effect than the process of the inventors aforesai'. previous application,

since the use of the relatively costly organic liquids can be dispensed with.

It has been found according to this invention that the fibrous material, converted by the employment or co-employment of solutions of tanning agents into a condition, in which the fibres do not stick together or gum up on the removal of water, is permanently protected against gumming up and becoming horny, so that it does not gum up even on treatment with hot water or hot soap solution and drying.

It has also been found according to this invention that certain properties of the resulting fibres which are of value in the textile industry, such as crimping, are substantially improved by the treatment with tanning agents. Such fibres also very readily absorb certain oils, suitable for rendering the same pliable, particularly from their aqueous emulsions, such as degras, eggyolk oil and olein. They may also be treated with mordants and dyes for coloring purposes.

It has been further found according to this invention that the colloidal properties of the coarse fibrous material may be changed and in particular the material be prevented from gumming up and becoming horny on removal of the water, by first treating the said coarse fibrous material with substances, such as water, alkalis, alkaline earths or acids, which have a dissolving action on the accompanying substances which cause the material to gum up or become horny and may, if desired, also exert a swelling action thereon, and only thereafter subjecting the said material to a treatment with tanning agents or solutions of tanning agents. In this embodiment of the process of this invention the tanning agents and their solutions exert a hardening or stabilizing effect on the fibres, particularly the fibre walls.

In carrying the process of this invention into efiect the animal skins are converted by a treatment known per se with swelling agents, for example with alkaline liquids, such as milk of lime, dilute soda lye or ammonia, or with acid liquids, such as formic acid, acetic acid, lactic acid, hydrochloric acid or sulphurous acid or with salt solutions, such as thiocyanates or sodium carbonate,

into a condition, which enables the fibres to be separated without damage whilst maintaining the same. This more or less extensive disintegratlon of the pretreated skins may, for example, be effected in a Hollander or with the aid of an opening mill. The resulting coarse fibrous material may be treated directly or after previous pickling with tanning agents or pseudo-tanning agents, forexample aqueous solutions of these substances. An alternative procedure, however, is to treat the coarse fibrous material first with substances, such as water, alkalis, alkaline earths or acids. This treatment may be replaced by a treatment in accordance with the inventors aforesaid previous application with organic liquids immiscible with water, which alter the colloldal properties of the fibrous material with or A furtanning agents.

The hereinbefore described treatments may be effected simultaneously or in stages. If desired several treatments as aforesaid may be employed successively. In some cases it is advisable to follow each treatment stage or certain individual stages by a fin'e shredding operation, for example by carding or combing. An alternative procedure, however, is only tosubject the material to fine shredding after all the treatments have been effected.

The process of this invention enables fibres other than those obtained from animal skins, for example wool, to be employed, these materials being always tanned in the fibrous condition.

Examples 1. 100 kgms. of neats skin waste are laid for two weeks in milk of lime at ordinary temperature, coarsely shredded on an opening mill, again laid for two weeks in milk of lime, neutralized, freed from adhering and combined lime by washing with acid water, pickled and tanned by one of the usual chrome-tanning processes. The tanned coarse fibrous product is thereafter conveyed in a more or less extensively dried condition over a carding comb, if necessary after having been previously dipped in an aqueous dispersion of egg-yolk oil, degras or the like. As a result of this fine shredding operation there is obtained a long fibrous product broken down into extremely fine fibrils and having wool-like properties, which can be worked up like Wool into spun goods, fabric, felt and the like.

2. 100 kgms. of grained calf skin waste are laid for 150 days in milk of lime at room temperature. The material is then passed through an opening mill, the opening roller of which is sprayed with water and the resulting ropes and bundles of fibres are collected on a sieve. The resulting coarse fibrous material is washed, dipped. in alcohol, expressed and passed in a more or less extensively dried condition over a carding comb. The mass, which is already in a fairly fine fibrous condition, is thereafter further subjected to a 2 bath chrome-tanning process, washed, dried and then again passed over a carding comb and, if desired, thereafter conveyed over a combing machine. A fibrous mass, having the properties of extremely fine wool but with far greater strength of fibres, is obtained.

3. 100 kgms. of neats hide are limed as described in Example 1, coarsely shredded, washed, pickled and tanned. The fibrous material so prepared is further shredded in a completely wet condition with the aid of a tearing machine, the tearing rollers of which are provided with teeth, spines, wire brushes or the like;

The fibrous product already further disintegrated in the aforesaid manner is collected, slowly dried and, if desired, converted on the carding machine usually employed into very fine fibrils.

What we claim is:

1. In a process for the manufacture of spun goods, fabrics and other textiles with the employment of fibres obtained from animal skins, the improvement which comprises treating animal skins with swelling agents, effecting coarse mechanical shredding of the skins while they are still in a swollen condition, treating the coarse fibrous material with substances having a tanning action which alter the colloidal properties of the fibres and prevent the fibrous material from gumming up and becoming horny on removal of the water and finely shredding the material so treated.

2. In a process for the manufacture of spun goods, fabrics and other textiles with the employment of fibres obtained from animal skins, the improvement which comprises treating animal skins with swelling agents, effecting coarse mechanical shredding of the skins while they are still in a swollen condition, treating the coarse,

skins with swelling agents, effecting coarse me-' chanical shredding of the skins while they are still in a swollen condition, treating the coarse fibrous material with solutions of substances having a tanning action which alter the colloidal properties of the fibres and prevent the fibrous material from gumming up and becoming horny on removal of the water and finely shredding the material so treated.

4. In a process for the manufacture of spun goods, fabrics and other textiles with the employment of fibres obtained from animal skins, the improvement which comprises treating animal skins with swelling agents, effecting coarse mechanical shredding of the skins while they are still in a swollen condition, treating the coarse fibrous material with solutions of tanning agents which alter the colloidal properties of the fibres and prevent the fibrous material from gumming up and becoming horny on removal of the water and finely shredding the material so treated.

5. In a process for the manufacture of spun goods, fabrics and other textiles with the employment of fibres obtained from animal skins, the improvement which comprises treating animal skins with swelling agents, effecting coarse mechanical shredding of the skins while they are still in a swollen condition, treating the coarse fibrous material with pseudo-tanning agents selected from the group consisting of oils, fats and blubber which alter the colloidal properties of the fibres and prevent the fibrous material from 2,105,036 gumming up and becoming horny on removal of the water and finely shredding the material so treated.

6. A process according to claim 1, wherein the coarse fibrous material is treated, before the treatment with substances having a tanning action, with substances'which have a dissolving action on the substances which cause the fibrous material to gum up or become horny on removal of the water.

'7. A process according to claim 1, wherein the coarse fibrous material is treated, before the treatment with substances having a tanning action, with substances which have a dissolvin action on the substances which cause the fibrous material to gum up or become horny on removal of the water and exert a swelling action thereon.

8. Aprocess according to claim 1, wherein'the coarse fibrous material is treated, before the treatment with substances having a tanning action, with substances selected from the group consisting of water, alkalis, alkaline earths an acids. a

9. A process according to claim 1, wherein the treatment for preventing the fibrous material from gumming up and becoming horny on removal ofthe water is carried out in stages.

10. r A process according to claim 1, wherein the treatment for preventing the fibrous material from gumming up and becoming horny on removal 'of the water is carried out in stages and each treatment stage is followed by a fine shredding operation.

11. A'proces's according to claim 1, wherein the treatment for preventing the fibrous material from gumming up and becoming horny on removal of the water is carried out in stages and certain individual stages of the treatment are followed by a fine shredding operation.

12. A process according to claim 1, wherein the fibrous material is treated in the course of its production withsubstances which are capable-of improving the properties of the fibres selected from the group consisting of oils, fats, mordants, softening agents and dyestufls.

13. A process according to claim 1, wherein the fibrous material is treated in the course of being iurther worked up with substances which are capable of improving the properties of the fibres selected from the group consisting of oils, fats, mordants, softening agents and dyestufis.

RICHARD FREUDENBERG. GUSTAV LANGE. 

